I saw the knight in golden armor stand up in struggle.
He is definitely crazy; even after getting hit like that, he wanted to continue to fight.
And as the woman said to stop the spar,
"INFERNAL RUSH".
Flames suddenly engulfed him.
In an instant, he appeared right in front of me, much faster than last time.
Somehow, just like last time, my body moved by itself.
I kicked him immediately at his chestplate, and he crashed into one of the pillars, but that didn't stop his momentum as he continued to crash into the wall.
He slowly fell from the wall, landing flat on the ground.
I noticed that he didn't move, and I was afraid that I had killed him.
'Oh no'. I didn't mean to do that.
Clap!
The king was clapping, which made his belly go up and down.
"Rylan Ashencroft, that was truly a splendid performance!" The king said it enthusiastically while clapping.
"Don't worry, he is not going to die; the 'Flaming Star' is going to heal him."
At the same time, from behind me, multiple people in white clothes entered. They had a symbol of a circular flame on their backs.
After taking the golden knight, they left the throne room.
"But what truly shocked me is how easy it was for you to defeat an 'S-Rank Monster Hunter."
S rank? Is that how they categorize strength in this world?
S rank would usually be the highest based on the novels that I have read. Since I defeated him with one attack, it was probably not the highest rank.
I know that Rylan Ashencroft was overpowered, but was he really so overpowered that he could defeat the highest rank with one attack?
I really doubt that. Considering that the empire was stronger than this kingdom, they probably have people stronger than S rank.
But it was good information nonetheless, since I now know that I am stronger than an S rank.
But was the golden knight really an S rank? Wasn't he a little too weak?
*****
(POV Lucien Ironclad)
Every day since I could remember, working hard has always been my life motto.
It started all the way back when I was 8 years old. I entered the Academy of Knights younger than normal because of my physique.
I was bigger than other kids my age.
Because of that, I had to train with the 11-year-olds.
At first, I couldn't keep up with the other 11-year-olds in my class.
I was bullied because of my age. Kids were like that back then. If they saw someone different, they would bully them.
At that time, I was sad that I couldn't win over them when we fought.
For that reason, I trained every day, even after our knight classes.
And finally, after 3 months, I won over the 11-year-olds. I think I was the happiest person in the world at that moment.
It didn't occur to me that an 8-year-old normally wouldn't win over an 11-year-old. Nevertheless, I persevered, and the feeling was amazing.
The following years, I was at the top of my class, then at the top of my grade, and finally at the top of the academy.
I kept having the same ideology that working hard was the only way to become the strongest.
Of course, I realized that my 'insignia' and talent were weak. But most of my strength was because of all the hard work I did, so I didn't let that affect me.
After graduating from the knight academy at the age of 15, I was selected to join the 'Metal Knight Order'.
I started as a bronze knight, and in the following 10 years, I worked my hardest.
I wanted to be the most powerful person only based on hard work.
I couldn't even kill a B-rank monster when I first joined.
But now, after 10 years, I killed my first A-rank monster alone. This granted me the title of 'S Rank Monster Slayer'.
After getting the title 'S Rank Monster Slayer', I was promoted to a gold knight.
Where I got the important responsibility of becoming the king's personal bodyguard.
That's when I heard the news.
A S-rank monster was killed by a 15-year-old boy.
The difference between an A rank and an S rank might not sound that different.
But I knew that the difference was astronimcal. There is a reason that a monster gets an S rank. The 'S' stands for 'Special'.
When they reach that strength, they start to gain intelligence. making it way harder to kill compared to an A-rank monster.
And when I heard the news that a 15-year-old killed a S-rank monster, I couldn't believe it.
Now, 10 years later, he was standing right in front of me.
Rylan Ashencroft.
a prodigy among prodigies, and a person that I wanted to fight.
When he entered the room, I already knew the result.
Everything in my body and experience was instinctively telling me one thing.
'He is a monster'.
The way he stood there with no expression, as if everything here was a waste of time, only ignited my motivation more.
When the fight began, I noticed that he didn't have a weapon. So I decided that I also wouldn't use a weapon because of my pride.
As the king said, Go, I rushed with all my might.
I aimed my fist at his face, trying to see how he would react.
But in an instant, I felt a huge amount of force on the side of my body. It was as if a thousand bulls had charged into me.
The next second, I was on the ground at the edge of the barrier, coughing up blood.
'My ribs are defintely broken, and it probably pierced my organ'.
I should probably stop now.
I have seen his strength; I should be satisfied now.
I stood up and wiped the blood from my mouth.
"You are truly as strong as they say."
Yeah, he was strong.
But if I stopped now, would I truly be able to say that I tried?
No
Seeing his strength was not the reason I fought. I could still fight as long as I was standing.
As long as I am still conscious, there is no way I will give up.
"Let's stop the spar."
Her voice sounded like a blur as I channeled my mana into my heart and activated my 'insignia'.
"INFERNAL RUSH".
I felt my strength double as I charged again with flames surrouding my body.
In an instant, I appeared in front of him.
And that's when everything went black.
I woke up to the sight of multiple 'Flaming Star' members trying to heal me.
That is when I realized what had happened.
"I lost".
In the end, I didn't win. All my hard work couldn't beat that talented monster.
I already knew that I would lose, but the result still made me sad.
My 5-year-old son and daughter's faces appeared in my mind.
Yeah, I think it was around that time when I stopped working hard.
I met my wife because of an injury that I got while I trained. And soon after, we fell in love.
'Being the world's strongest person was a dream for the young me.'
When I was young, I thought if I became the strongest, I would finally be able to get friends.
But after I met my wife and had my first child, I had a new dream.
'Becoming the world's best dad.'
The scene of a lonely 8-year-old crying as he swung his sword appeared in my mind.
'You are not alone anymore'.
'You have a family now'.